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SusieBlue

average_runner wrote: »

Quick Question about Disney Land in Paris?

We are going the last week of November for 4 nights. Did any do the full board was it worth it?
Is the ultimate fast express pass worth it?
Is the Disney land hotel good?
Any tips? Is it busy at weekends in Nov?

Thanks

I would do a minimum of half board. The food is absolutely outrageous so its definitely worth it. Expect to pay €20/€25 for a burger and chips meal for an adult if you don't have a meal plan.
Be sure to get a list of the restaurants in the park/Disney village that your meal plan will be eligible for.
I was there most recently last & I thought a specific restaurant was covered in our dining plan, only found out when it was time to pay that it wasn't & had to pay full whack for it.

There is a Starbucks & McDonalds in Disney Village. I'd usually go to one of those for breakfast, bring snacks from the room for lunch and then have a big dinner using the meal plan at about 4/5pm.
The portions are very generous and filling, though its mostly fast food.

November is pretty quiet during the week, and gets that bit busier at the weekends.
The closer you get to December, the busier it will be.
There is a Disneyland Paris app you can download where you can view real time queue lengths, to give you an idea of wait times.
I found it invaluable for trying to decide which ride or park to go to next and it helped make the most of our time.

There is also info on it as to where to find specific characters in the parks for photos. If your kids like a particular character its well worth keeping an eye on it so you can be sure to meet them!

For hotels in the park, I always stay in the Sequoia Lodge and wouldn't go anywhere else. Its clean, comfortable and only a 10 minute walk to the parks. It has a winter lodge theme, with loads of open fires and is very cosy, so perfect for the time of year that you're going.
I've also heard great reports on The Newport Bay.
The Disneyland looks nice but is extremely expensive and might be noisy as its physically inside the parks, versus the Sequoia Lodge which is in Disney Village.

As for top tips, if you have kids have a look at the Disney stuff in Penneys and online before you go.
The Minnie Mouse ears are €25 a pop in the parks, a Disney hoodie €50/€60 and a basic stuffed animal would be minimum €30.
You'd be robbed from it! So have a few bits ready to go in your suitcase to give them on the first morning to avoid buying in the shops.

The Christmas parades are amazing, you've chosen a wonderful time of year to visit. At closing time each day there is an illumination show projected onto Cinderella's castle & fireworks.
Its truly magical and was the highlight of our trip, everyone gathers to watch it, there would be thousands of people standing around the castle to watch. The atmosphere its amazing for it, have a look on youtube to see for yourself. Its a must do!

fdevine

Aldi have children's character costumes in their upcoming specials, including two Disney Princesses & a Mary Poppins (€12 each including headgear)

https://www.aldi.ie/c/specialbuys/dates/2020-02-13?sort=popular&q=%3Apopular%3AtransactionalStatus%3Atransactional%3AtransactionalStatus%3Anontransactional%3AEvent%3AChildrens+Dress+Up&lowerBound=1&upperBound=20&text=

RosieJoe

I have stayed in the Disneyland Hotel a few times and it is really nice. You would not hear any noise at all from the park. And it is so nice to have such a short stroll at the end of the day.

Breakfast can be included in some hotels and meal plans, so even though breakfast options in McDonalds/Starbucks was pointed out, this may not be required.

If you go for a higher meal plan, just make use of it. We used it before and ate in Walt's on Main Street. And had a few meals in Inventions in the Disneyland Hotel.

We tend to go at the same time of year as you, but during the week. It is a lot quieter and more enjoyable.

average_runner

RosieJoe wrote: »

I have stayed in the Disneyland Hotel a few times and it is really nice. You would not hear any noise at all from the park. And it is so nice to have such a short stroll at the end of the day.

Breakfast can be included in some hotels and meal plans, so even though breakfast options in McDonalds/Starbucks was pointed out, this may not be required.

If you go for a higher meal plan, just make use of it. We used it before and ate in Walt's on Main Street. And had a few meals in Inventions in the Disneyland Hotel.

We tend to go at the same time of year as you, but during the week. It is a lot quieter and more enjoyable.

Thanks for that. Think we will go during the week on that advice.

Dodge

If you can afford it, definitely stay in the Disneyland hotel. Have stayed in Sequoia Lodge and Sante Fe myself. Both good trips but as you’d expect, the higher priced hotel, the better it is...

I don’t you’ll need to buy the express pass. Some tip on how to use the standard fastpass system here from a previous post

Dodge wrote: »

Fast passes can ‘kind of’ be stacked

At each ride you’ll see the fastpass machines and the next times available above it. Scan your tickets and it’ll print out a paper ticket for each park ticket scanned

When your time comes, just hand them over at the fast pass queue

I say ‘kinda’ stacked because on the ticket it will say when you can next claim a new one. It’s usually the same time as your existing one but if it’s a long way away, it may be shorter. Just look at the ticket to confirm

Some tips from our second trip this year. If onsite make great use of the magic hours. We literally did every ride in the Studios (bar crushers coaster) in one 90 minute period

A LOT of people got for Big Thunder Mountain fastpasses. So much so that they stopped checking park tickets to speed up the process. It meant we could get one of these and then scan our park tickets elsewhere

Our first visit was when our little one was 5 and she returned in February aged 9. We all still had a brilliant time

SusieBlue

average_runner wrote: »

Thanks for that. Think we will go during the week on that advice.

If you download the app now and check in on it a few times a week, you’ll be able to see yourself the significant difference in wait times on weekdays versus the weekend.

I was there in spring ‘19, and we were able to pretty much walk straight onto all rides on the Wednesday & Thursday. The Friday was a bit busier but manageable, and the Saturday was mayhem.
We had to queue for over 2 hours in freezing weather for Thunder Mountain! Never again, weekends are just a no go.
So if you’re able to go during the week definitely do, it’ll be far more enjoyable and less stressful.

Car99

Going to disney Paris on March 22nd for 3 nights, arriving at the park on a Sunday about midday any suggestions which park would be best to go to on the sunday given the kids will have been up since 6 am , aged nearly 4 and 7 years.
Also any suggestions on where to eat that evening in one of the parks , we have half board plus so a restaurant that's covered by that would be good.

SusieBlue

Car99 wrote: »

Going to disney Paris on March 22nd for 3 nights, arriving at the park on a Sunday about midday any suggestions which park would be best to go to on the sunday given the kids will have been up since 6 am , aged nearly 4 and 7 years.
Also any suggestions on where to eat that evening in one of the parks , we have half board plus so a restaurant that's covered by that would be good.

Roughly how old are the kids, and are they boys or girls? Sorry for asking, it’s just the answer is dependant on the above info.

As for food, Annettes Diner & The Steakhouse in Disney Village were nice and Inventions in Fantasyland/Disneyland Hotel were our favourites.
They actually change what restaurants are included in the plans with every season so be sure to ask before you order any food. The above were covered in my plan but might not be in yours!

A lot of the restaurants in the parks may look different, and have different themes (you’ll see lots of Disney princess restaurants in Fantasy land, more pirate themed ones in Frontierland etc) but they all serve pretty much the same menus with the same prices.
Just something to be aware of before you go traipsing around the parks with hungry kids looking for a different menu/cheaper option.

Dodge

Also check out the opening times of the parks. They closed about 6/7 when went last February so eating at the hotel buffet was a good option for us. It’s pricey to pay for, but included in the half board

Car99

SusieBlue wrote: »

Roughly how old are the kids, and are they boys or girls? Sorry for asking, it’s just the answer is dependant on the above info.

As for food, Annettes Diner & The Steakhouse in Disney Village were nice and Inventions in Fantasyland/Disneyland Hotel were our favourites.
They actually change what restaurants are included in the plans with every season so be sure to ask before you order any food. The above were covered in my plan but might not be in yours!

A lot of the restaurants in the parks may look different, and have different themes (you’ll see lots of Disney princess restaurants in Fantasy land, more pirate themed ones in Frontierland etc) but they all serve pretty much the same menus with the same prices.
Just something to be aware of before you go traipsing around the parks with hungry kids looking for a different menu/cheaper option.

Boy nearly 4 , girl 7 , thanks.

Car99

SusieBlue wrote: »

Roughly how old are the kids, and are they boys or girls? Sorry for asking, it’s just the answer is dependant on the above info.

As for food, Annettes Diner & The Steakhouse in Disney Village were nice and Inventions in Fantasyland/Disneyland Hotel were our favourites.
They actually change what restaurants are included in the plans with every season so be sure to ask before you order any food. The above were covered in my plan but might not be in yours!

A lot of the restaurants in the parks may look different, and have different themes (you’ll see lots of Disney princess restaurants in Fantasy land, more pirate themed ones in Frontierland etc) but they all serve pretty much the same menus with the same prices.
Just something to be aware of before you go traipsing around the parks with hungry kids looking for a different menu/cheaper option.

Boy nearly 4 , girl 7 , thanks.

SusieBlue

Car99 wrote: »

Boy nearly 4 , girl 7 , thanks.

They are the both the perfect ages to get the most out of Fantasyland so I would head straight there and go for whatever has the shortest queues.
There’s a giant ornate carousel they’ll both love, ‘it’s a small world’ ride & Dumbo is usually a big hit too.
All would be popular rides but the queues move very quickly so are good options with tired kids.

It’s the biggest and best park (imo) and is perfect for children of that age, they can do everything there whereas some of the other parks have rides that are only suitable for bigger kids.

Also if you’re getting a fast pass for anything, get it for the Peter Pan ride, it’s really good!

fdevine

The main park is usually open later than the Studios park, but time permitting I would still head to the main park first

They start closing off section of the park ahead of the fireworks so that's something to be aware of

Oafley Jones

average_runner wrote: »

Quick Question about Disney Land in Paris?

We are going the last week of November for 4 nights. Did any do the full board was it worth it?
Is the ultimate fast express pass worth it?
Is the Disney land hotel good?
Any tips? Is it busy at weekends in Nov?

Thanks

Bought the VIP Express pass last year and felt it was a waste for us. I bought two for the five of us on the busiest day 1) given the massive cost 2) knowing my eldest would be the only one to probably utilise it and 2) my wife wouldn't be that bothered. Ours, were 5, 3 and 2, so it meant us running off and trying jumping on what we could, trying the patience of the smaller rwo. Having said that, It would be incredibly handy for older kids and adults travellers by themselves. It is an enormous cost.

We had Half Board Premium and found it saved a huge amount, particularly for the Princess Dinner which would have been some ridiculous cost had it not been included. Likewise for the likes of "Remy's". We charged everything to the room and were really surprised to learn to we "only" owned 260 euro (for 5 days) for additional food costs.


The DLH is excellent in term of location. Brilliant, you're at the park gate and it's so easy to pop in and out of the parks But the rooms would barely be 3 stars in a lot of places. The hotel is due for closure either very late this year or early next for a complete renovation. Didn't realise they had character interactions in the restaurants and that was a nice surprise. Our youngest was literally squealing with delight when he saw Mickey.

Also, you need to book some of the restaurants (e.g. the princess place) either 3 or 6 months out. As in, the day they become available. Otherwise they're gone.

OffalyMedic

Booking Orlando this week for October 😄😄 2 adults (big children) we have 4 full days in Universal before a week in Cancun.
Itinerary at present is:
Day 1 and 2 in Universal studio and Island of Adventure.
Day 3: Volcano Bay
Day 4: SeaWorld

Is this dooable. We don't mind a busy 4 days as we have a week to chill after and want to see and much as we can and do as many adrenaline rides as we can in the couple of days too. All advice appreciated

Thanks 👌👌

naughtysmurf

If you are staying in one of the Universal Delux hotels that include the unlimited express pass then two days are ok for Uni & IOA, three days is better to cover everything, if not & the parks are busy you can purchase them in the park on the day, see what the crowds level is like, two types, one is unlimited the other one ride only, remember onsite guests will be in an hour earlier than everyone else.

Factor in time to get through security, arrive 30 minutes before opening if staying off site

Sea World has the best thrill rides IMO, if you don't bother with the shows, it's a half day park

Ideally stay at the cheapest on-site Universal Delux, Hard Rock, Loews Royal Pacific usually the cheapest or Portofino Bay, unlimited express pass included in your stay

Haven't been to Volcano Bay

To get the most out of your days, get up early, be there before opening

OffalyMedic

naughtysmurf wrote:

To get the most out of your days, get up early, be there before opening

We are staying in Universal Endless Summer so plan on being in when the gates open for us an hour before official opening and getting the park tickets that allow multiple parks per day etc

naughtysmurf

Uni & IOA are side by side, you can travel between the two using the Hogwarts Express , no need to leave either park by the exit to go to the other, you will have to show your multi park ticket though, it’s a great resort

gaz wac

you might not need the full day at Volcano Bay but it is a great spot. The wave machine is great. Loads of sun beds on mini beaches with bars close by. The q's are not that bad

Car99

Will DLP close soon due to the VIRUS?

ShamoBuc

Car99 wrote: »

Will DLP close soon due to the VIRUS?

I reckon it will.

DaveyDave

naughtysmurf wrote: »

Uni & IOA are side by side, you can travel between the two using the Hogwarts Express , no need to leave either park by the exit to go to the other, you will have to show your multi park ticket though, it’s a great resort

Unless the Hogwarts Express queue is small it could be quicker to just walk back to City walk and into the other park. If the weather is nice I'd say just go for the walk. By the time you queue for the train, wait for it to empty, get on and wait for it to fill up it could take a while. I found the queue wasn't pleasant, narrow stuffy hallways didn't help with the 30 minute wait we had. Grab a waffle cone in Ben & Jerry's beforehand

In saying that, it was just myself and the GF there so no kids or anything and we don't mind the walk in the sun.

It's been almost 3 years since we were there. Dying to go back!